Chapter 41 - <7>
"Still, there's nobody around…"
Ritz muttered as he looked around the city. No matter how much this was the past Royal Capital Sears, there couldn't possibly have been a time with so few people.
He needed to talk to someone, but even something that simple was going to be a struggle.
"Ritz, look! There's an old woman!"
Spotting an old woman sitting all alone, Anna pointed. It seemed their only option was to talk to her first.
"I'll go ask."
Before Ritz could say a word, Anna took off, her single braid bouncing as she ran with a light, springy step.
He had no idea what kind of world this was, but Anna was as energetic as ever. Not that he could imagine Anna losing her energy in the first place.
As he and Franz approached Anna and the old woman, he watched them. The old woman seemed to be ignoring Anna, not even looking up.
"Grandma, what's wrong? If something's bothering you, maybe I can help if you tell me about it?"
Anna peered at the old woman, asking gently.
Maybe she was wary of strangers. If so, it would probably be counterproductive for Ritz and Franz to get any closer if they wanted to get her to talk.
Ritz lightly tugged on Franz's shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. Franz looked puzzled, but he seemed to understand the intention and turned his gaze toward Anna and the others without a word.
After a few more questions from Anna, the old woman fearfully raised her head. Her face was completely exhausted. Looking closely, she seemed to have several cuts.
"I'll heal your injuries."
Anna said softly, then gently reached out her hand to the old woman's wounds and used her healing magic.
"Water Spirit, heal these wounds."
As her gently placed palm touched the wounds, a faint light emanated. Watching from behind, it was a familiar sight.
But Anna's reaction was a little strange. She kept tilting her head in confusion.
Regardless of Anna's odd behavior, the old woman's wounds seemed to have healed cleanly, just as they always did. The old woman bowed her head slightly and quietly expressed her gratitude to Anna.
"Thank you, you're a kind young lady. I have nothing to give you in return, I'm so sorry."
Peering into the old woman's sad eyes, Anna crouched down in front of her.
"Grandma, what's wrong?"
Seeing that she had calmed down, Anna asked the same question again, as if speaking to a child.
Eventually, the old woman began to mutter quickly, as if wary of her surroundings. Ritz's ears, due to their shape, could hear better than a human's, but he couldn't make it out.
Perhaps unable to hear her despite being close, Anna repeated the same question again. The old woman then looked up at Ritz and Franz, who were a little ways off, with fearful eyes.
He couldn't hear her quiet question to Anna, but he understood from Anna's reply.
"Those are my friends. It's okay!"
After answering cheerfully, Anna beckoned them over. The old woman still looked frightened, but Ritz wondered if it would be alright as he stood next to Anna. Franz followed suit, shuffling over.
The old woman, now the focus of three pairs of eyes, muttered something again. Her hoarse, weak, and rapid speech was hard to understand.
"Huh? What? I can't hear you."
"In the castle… there's an incarnation of evil, shrouded in darkness."
"…An incarnation of evil?"
Failing to grasp the meaning of the unexpected words, Ritz repeated them quietly under his breath. Meanwhile, the old woman covered her face in despair, groaning in a whisper filled with sighs.
"This country is finished."
"…What do you mean?"
As Anna turned to Ritz with a confused look, Ritz shook his head.
"Beats me."
He still didn't have enough information. He needed more, at any cost. As he thought this, Ritz tilted his head. This wasn't a real battlefield. It was a labyrinth meant to be entered alone.
He couldn't imagine being able to gather information freely, could he?
"So many people are suffering, but no one can do anything about it. I'm telling you for your own good, young lady, you should leave this country…"
The old woman's words grew even more despairing. Seeing her, the one to puff out her chest was, as expected, or perhaps it should be said, of course, Anna.
"I can't do that. It's wrong to run away when so many people are suffering!"
Ritz lightly pressed his forehead. Good grief, why did she always try to take on everything herself? He was well aware that this was Anna's personality, but he wished she would consider Ritz's position, having been entrusted with her by her adoptive father.
"Really? Will you really help us?"
As expected, the old woman's eyes were pleading, and she reached out to Anna as if seeking salvation. Anna nodded strongly, seriously.
"If there's anything troubling you, just say the word! I'll help."
How could he teach her not to make promises so easily? It was a real headache.
At Anna's confident words, the old woman covered her face.
"Please save my grandchild… He's dying…"
Anna's face hardened, and she stood up. There was no way Anna could refuse this.
"Really? Grandma, please show me the way!"
As Anna turned to him with eyes full of determination, Ritz nodded silently. Even if it was a fictional world, leaving someone to die would leave a bad taste in his mouth.
Besides, this was something created at the behest of a strict king by Artis. It was surely better to perform an act of kindness.
In the room the old woman led them to, a child covered in wounds lay. His breathing was shallow, and even to Ritz, who had seen many on the verge of death, his condition was critical.
"There now, I'll heal you right away, so don't worry."
Anna rushed to the child's side, knelt by the bed, and cheerfully encouraged him. The mature expression she wore was just like the one he had seen in the Village of Vishnu.
"Is he okay?"
When he couldn't help but ask, Anna turned around and smiled.
"He'll be fine. Just watch."
Taking a small breath, Anna began to spin her words of prayer. It was the highest-level healing magic, one she had only ever used on Franz.
"Oh, Water Spirit King, who governs all peace and healing, answer my call and share your power with me! With the source of my life, grant this one healing!"
A brilliant, translucent blue light enveloped Anna.
"Grant me your infinite power of healing…"
The light, shimmering like water, gradually gathered from Anna's body into her hands, becoming a dazzling droplet of water on the verge of overflowing. She quietly bestowed it upon the child.
The child's pained breathing gradually calmed. At the same time, a faint flush of red returned to his ashen cheeks. It seemed his body temperature was returning to normal.
Phew, looks like he'll be okay. He looked down at the top of Anna's head and shrugged.
But no sooner had he sighed in relief than something strange happened to Anna.
"Huh, huh, huh? What is this?!"
At Anna's voice, which was filled with a confusion he had never heard before, Ritz bent down toward her.
"What's wrong?"
"Ritz, it's strange, it won't stop!"
The droplets gathered in her hands were beginning to spill over, still emitting a brilliant light. The overflowing droplets wouldn't stop.
"The power of water is overflowing… I can't stop it!"
Ritz panicked. A spirit's power going out of control was something Ritz, who was not a spirit user, could do nothing about.
"If it doesn't stop, what will happen to you?"
When he asked hesitantly, Anna answered, on the verge of tears.
"I'll die~."
"What?!"
"Because… it's the source of my life, you know?"
Not just Ritz, but Franz too turned pale.
"Waaah, what should I do, Ritz~?"
"C-calm down, just calm down. There must be some way."
"I don't know~."
"What if you drink the water?"
At Franz's bizarre suggestion, Ritz and Anna were momentarily stunned.
"…Drink it?"
When he asked again, Franz nodded with a serious face.
"You just have to return it to your body. Probably…"
The old woman, who had been watching their exchange, quietly approached the three of them with a sincere expression. In her hands was a shining silver cup.
He had thought it might happen, but his imagination had turned in the worst direction. The old woman offered the cup to Anna.
"Could you spare a little of that water of life? It's not just this child; there are many other children suffering. They can't afford medicine, and there are no doctors. Everyone is just weeping in despair."
"…But…"
"I know it's a lot to ask. But please."
Transparent tears streamed down the old woman's wrinkled cheeks. They fell one after another. Anna, still on the verge of tears herself, stared at the old woman, then at the water of life overflowing in her hands.
Ritz froze, a bad feeling creeping over him. Just as he opened his mouth to stop Anna, she spoke first.
"Grandma, put the vessel there."
"Anna!"
It was just as he thought. If her power was going to run rampant anyway, she intended to use the water of life to save the suffering people. Even if it meant sacrificing herself.
The Anna who turned around was smiling through her tears.
"A lot of people will be saved, right?"
As if she had made up her mind, Anna quietly stood up.
"Are you an idiot?! Are you going to risk your life for complete strangers?"
"But… I hate that so many people are suffering."
"Don't forget, this is a labyrinth. We don't even know if they're real. What's the point of giving your life for an illusion?!"
"I might not die…"
"Wh…"
"Maybe, just maybe, the very last drop will be left and I'll be saved!"
"Anna!"
"If there are lives I can save right in front of me, and a source of life that I don't know how to get back, I should at least try. Everyone might be saved!"
"Stop it!"
Ignoring their pleas to stop, Anna poured all the droplets into the vessel.
The water that filled it to the brim was just like Anna's heart: clear, faint, and shining with a pale blue light.
"See, it's okay…"
Unable to continue, Anna lost her strength as if a string had been cut. Ritz instinctively caught her body.
"Anna! Stay with me! Hey!"
Ritz was worried, but also irritated by Anna's misguided purity, which focused only on saving others. At this rate, no matter how many lives she had, it wouldn't be enough.
Anna was still young, with no experience and no knowledge of life's joys, and yet she had only one life.
As Ritz felt the weight of Anna's body in his arms and bit his lip, the old woman and child began to glow, their forms turning translucent and disappearing.
In their place, Anna, who had lost her strength, quietly opened her eyes.
After blinking several times, Anna's emerald eyes widened as she looked up at Ritz, who was still holding her.
"Huh? I'm fine?"
At her dazed words, it was Ritz who felt his strength leave him. It seemed she was completely fine.
As Ritz hung his head in defeat, Anna tilted her head in confusion in his arms.
"Ehehe. Oh, that's a relief. I really thought I was a goner."
Her words were so incredibly thoughtless that Ritz instinctively yelled.
"You idiot!"
"Eek!"
Anna flinched in his arms.
"I get that you want to help people. But how can you save anyone when you don't even understand the weight of your own life?!"
This was the first time since Anton had entrusted her to him that he had properly scolded Anna. Anna froze, staring at Ritz's face without moving.
"You're with me and Franz now, aren't you? If you just go and die in front of us like that, how much responsibility do you think we'll feel, how much will we suffer?"
"Eh…?"
Silently, Ritz gestured with his chin toward Franz. Anna cautiously looked behind Ritz and cast her eyes down with a start.
Franz was sitting slumped over, his face in his hands. It seemed the moment he realized Anna was alive, his legs had given out in relief.
"…I'm sorry."
At Anna's apology, Ritz's expression softened.
"As long as you understand. We're traveling together as a trio now. So don't go sacrificing yourself without thinking."
"I'm sorry…"
"Just don't do it again."
"Okay."
Ritz gave a wry smile at the crestfallen Anna. He really felt like a father. Anna nodded obediently, and after she tightly gripped his clothes, he smiled wryly and let her go.
"Still, I don't get why your power went out of control…"
"I know, right?"
Anna looked at her hands with a puzzled expression. It seemed she had no idea why the water of healing had overflowed.
"Maybe… this was the trial?"
Franz, still looking pale, muttered quietly.
"The trial, huh…"
Now that he mentioned it, that was a high possibility. In other words, because Anna had cleared one trial, the old woman and her grandchild had disappeared.
"So Anna's power going berserk was part of it too…"
Perhaps those who possess something they can give to others are asked to give their all. Whether one can sacrifice oneself… that might indeed be a necessary quality for a king.
Ritz, who had been close to Edward before the civil war, understood that. He knew there were many things Edward had given up for the throne.
In Anna's case, because she possessed the power of healing to give to others, she was asked for all of it. The trial seemed to be whether she could help others, even at the cost of herself.
If it had just been Ritz and Franz, the trial would have ended here.
So Edward was right. We might not be able to do it alone, but with the three of us, we might manage somehow.
"So this is how they're going to test us. What a nasty trial."
Artis was surely watching them the whole time. Based on that, he must be judging somewhere whether they were capable of withstanding the trials.
It was infuriating, but it seemed they had no choice but to find these trials and crush them.
"We should probably brace ourselves."
At Ritz's murmur, Anna and Franz nodded gravely. How many more of these were there?
For now, the three of them roused their spirits once again and, relying on the old woman's words that 'there's an incarnation of evil in the castle,' they headed for the castle.
The Royal Capital Sears was the final destination on the Traveler's Highway, which ran straight south from the medicinal herb town of Tushil. So if they just followed the largest road south, they would eventually come to the main street leading to the castle.
On the way to the castle, they met many people, but they were all exhausted. And it got worse the closer they got to the castle.
"The castle's the problem. I get that, but still…"
Ritz muttered to no one in particular. For the people's lives to be this destitute was the fault of the government. He understood at least that much.
"I wonder what the 'incarnation of evil' is?"
To Anna's serious but outlandish question, Ritz answered.
"It's probably not a real monster."
"Why not?"
"If there was a monster nesting in the castle, and all we had to do was defeat it, that wouldn't be much of a trial for royalty, would it? I have a feeling there's something more to it."
"I wonder what…"
They couldn't come to any conclusion. When the three of them finally reached the castle, they were astounded.
"Whoa, it's so luxurious!"
The castle hadn't seemed that way from a distance, but up close, it was magnificent.
Gold was used lavishly on the trim of the many fluttering national flags, and the intricate carvings and stonework on the walls were splendid.
The stone of the walls was polished to a brilliant shine. It was surely marble.
"Is the castle in the Royal Capital like this?"
Anna still didn't know the Royal Capital.
"No way. This is weird."
Ritz had a feeling he was starting to understand the thinking of Artis and the strict king who had created this labyrinth.
An abnormally luxurious castle, a populace on the brink of survival. This might hold a lesson and a warning for royalty.
The three of them were met at the base of the castle by the less-than-friendly welcome of the soldiers.
Compared to the people in the city, the soldiers, with their healthy complexions, were clad in heavy-looking armor and glaring at them.
By any measure, it was incredibly outdated armor for the current era. It looked like an ancient antique. It seemed Ritz's casual guess hadn't been wrong after all.
The three of them moved past them as if they were tourists visiting the castle. The soldiers, seemingly uninterested in those not entering the castle, quickly looked away.
This castle was significantly smaller than the actual royal castle in Sears. From what Ritz could see, it was about the size of the very center of the royal castle, just past the second gate.
The current royal castle was several times larger, housing the government affairs department, the military affairs department, a military academy, and even the Royal Guard barracks.
The soldiers didn't seem wary of their movements. They probably couldn't even imagine that they were trying to get inside.
"Why do the soldiers look so much more energetic?"
Anna seemed to be comparing the soldiers to the people of the city. It was only natural that she would question their vastly different attitudes and appearances.
"Those soldiers are probably living the good life."
Not understanding what he meant, Anna and Franz tilted their heads. It couldn't be helped, as neither of them knew anything about military or political affairs. Ritz decided to explain it simply.
"To put it simply, it means the king is giving special treatment only to those who protect him."
"Ah, so that's it."
"?"
In contrast to Franz, who seemed to understand, Anna tilted her head even more, still not getting it.
Left with no choice, Ritz used a familiar example to explain it to Anna.
"Anna, what would you do if I were to use this power to do bad things?"
"I'd stop you."
Anna answered without a moment's hesitation.
"Even if I said you'd never have to worry about food again if you helped me with my evil deeds, would you still stop me?"
"Of course!"
Ritz nodded deeply. He had expected Anna to say that. This should be easy to understand.
"In other words, the soldiers here aren't stopping the king from doing bad things; they're doing this to line their own pockets. That's why they're different from the regular citizens."
While Ritz was explaining, Franz took out a notebook. It should have the notes he took on the qualities of a king from Edward. When he peeked over, Anna joined him in looking at Franz's notes.
It was written: 'Judge injustice and evil equally, without discriminating between the privileged and the common folk. Rewards should also be given equally.'
Presumably, the lord of this castle had the exact opposite way of thinking. Looking up from the notebook, he looked at Franz and Anna.
"This is just my guess, but this labyrinth is probably ruled by a king who does all the things the strict king thought a royal should never do."
"…What do you mean?"
To Anna, who looked more confused than ever, he answered in a placating tone.
"Looking at this city, we thought it was abnormal. But someone who has never seen things from the common people's side as a royal probably wouldn't think it's abnormal."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Royalty is a privileged class. There are more than a few of them who live in ignorance."
The man who had fought Edward in the civil war and called himself the false king, Edward's brother, was just like that.
"This labyrinth probably reproduces a country ruled by the worst possible kind of king a royal could become. The trial is likely to see if, by looking at that king, they can cast off their own indulgence and arrogance."
At the detailed explanation, Anna and Franz finally seemed to understand and nodded.
That brought them back to the initial problem. How to get into the castle.
"What do we do?"
When Franz asked, Ritz gave a simple reply.
"We go inside."
"…How?"
Though it was a question, Franz's tone was tinged with resignation. It seemed he knew what Ritz was about to say. Ritz never liked to beat around the bush in the first place.
"A frontal assault, of course."
"…I thought you'd say that."
Ritz beckoned Anna and Franz over and began to explain the plan in their ears.
"Anna, first, use a wind arrow to create a defensive barrier around the three of us."
"Okay!"
Anna took her bow in one hand and drew an arrow.
"Franz, on my signal, you'll launch a Fireball. You can go all out."
"What about you, Ritz?"
To Franz's whispered question, he answered with a smile.
"I'll charge in right behind the Fireball and throw the enemy into confusion."
As Ritz stated it definitively, Franz sighed quietly and held his spear of flame in a short grip. If he was just empowering his magic, this was apparently enough.
"I knew it…"
At Franz's resigned tone, Ritz smiled wryly.
"We don't have time for roundabout tactics, do we?"
"But Ritz, if the Fireball hits the building, it'll be a disaster."
To Anna's question, Ritz gave a concise answer.
"I'll cut it down right before it does."
Ritz had experienced that before. And this time, it wasn't a Fireball coming at him, but one he was chasing. There probably wouldn't be any problem.
"Alright, you ready?"
"Okay!"
"Yeah."
A cheerful Anna, and in contrast, a reluctant Franz with a begrudging reply. But Franz was a man who did what he had to do.
Confirming that Franz was concentrating his spirit with his spear of flame in one hand, Ritz began his countdown.
"Alright, here we go… Three… two… one… go, Franz!"
"Fire Spirit, share your power with me. Go, Fireball!"
With Franz's launched Fireball as the signal, Anna drew her wind bow taut.
"Wind Spirit, protect us!"
The wind released from the arrow formed a thin barrier around the three of them. Preparations were complete. All that was left was to charge.
"Let's go!"
Ritz pulled his greatsword, still in its scabbard, from his back and charged fiercely into the castle from behind the Fireball.
"You're too fast~."
Anna desperately followed behind him. Franz followed after her. As Ritz ran, he knocked down the soldiers who were stunned by the Fireball with his sheathed greatsword, giving them no time to counterattack.
Left behind were the painful figures of soldiers groaning on the ground…
"Whoa… that looks painful."
To Anna, who muttered this as she ran, Ritz answered without pausing his sword swing.
"They're doing bad things, so it can't be helped."
Franz, silent, seemed to share Ritz's opinion, with not a hint of sympathy in his eyes. Anna nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"I see."
And just like that, they managed to rush into the castle without any trouble.
"The finishing touch!"
Ritz threw aside his scabbard and sliced the Fireball in two from behind with all his might. The Fireball exploded violently and disappeared.
"You two alright?"
To Ritz, who turned around without even being out of breath, Anna answered with a smile, and Franz nodded while catching his breath. It seemed all three had made it inside safely.
At that moment, the soldiers who had been at the entrance began to turn into glittering dust and disappear. It seemed that getting past this point was also some kind of trial.
"He really is watching us from somewhere."
He couldn't help but say it with a bit of a sneer. If he was watching, he wished he would just let them out. After all, they weren't the ones who were supposed to be taking the royal trial.
But this was no time to be cursing the master of the labyrinth. Getting out was the priority.
"Come on, let's keep moving."
When he urged the two of them on, they nodded silently.
As they walked through the empty space, the strange silence made the two younger members, who had never been in such a situation before, uneasy. Their movements were even clumsy with tension.
To ease Anna and Franz's tension, Ritz cracked a joke.
"In situations like this, usually when you open a door, a huge army of enemies comes pouring out."
When he said this jokingly to the tired-looking Franz, Franz's face twisted in an obvious grimace.
"Stop it. What'll you do if it actually happens?"
Franz probably wanted to just get inside the castle, find a clue, and leave the labyrinth without any trouble.
But it wasn't going to be that easy.
"Let's just go inside and see."
Ritz said this and stood up, urging the two of them on. He didn't know what was inside the castle, but for now, the three of them had no choice but to move forward.
It was Ritz, of course, who first noticed the change. This was a familiar presence.
Killing intent.
"Looks like they're here."
"…What is?"
Without answering Franz's fearful question, Ritz readied his greatsword.
"Told you so. In situations like this, a huge army of enemies comes swarming out."
"…"
At the same time as Franz and Anna's eyes widened, a flood of soldiers burst out from the castle gate they had just passed through, and from the main doors of the castle.
"Anna, defense!"
At Ritz's split-second command, Anna immediately fired her wind bow. But this wind barrier had one drawback.
"Ritz, it won't last long."
That's right, Anna's wind barrier only lasted for a very short time.
"…You're right."
While they were talking, the three of them were gradually surrounded by a large number of soldiers, forming a circle with them at the center. It seemed they had read their moves and were waiting for the wind barrier to disappear before closing in.
This was a desperate pinch.
"Ritz, what are we going to do?!"
Without answering the slightly panicked Franz, Ritz looked at Anna.
"Can you use the earth arrow from here?"
"I can."
With a tense expression, Anna drew the earth bow from her quiver.
"Stick that in the ground."
"? Okay."
Without understanding why, Anna did as she was told and stuck the arrow into the ground. After a brief staredown with the soldiers, the wind barrier began to fade.
"Ritz!"
Seeing Anna turn around with a serious face, he readied his greatsword.
"Alright, on my signal, use the Earth Spirit."
"The Earth Spirit?"
Not understanding his intention, Anna was confused. Even if she used the Earth Spirit, all she could do was make the enemy trip.
But Ritz had a plan. He just silently waited for the moment the wind barrier completely disappeared.
The moment the wind barrier vanished, the soldiers all braced themselves to charge at them at once. That was the moment Ritz was aiming for.
"Anna!"
At the same time as he called out, Anna shouted.
"Earth Spirit, make them trip!"
Instantly, just as Ritz had intended, the person at the front of the circle couldn't charge and fell. Then the person behind them tripped over the one in front and fell. This continued in a chain reaction.
"Whoa…"
Anna, the one who had used the technique, stood there stunned.
"See? We can manage somehow, right?"
When they were packed this tightly, if one person fell, everyone would fall. It was just common sense.
"…It's like dominoes."
Smiling at Franz's murmur, Ritz slung his greatsword onto his back. There was no need to use it anymore.
"Alright, let's get out of here!"
Ritz stepped on the soldiers who were struggling to get up from their tangled pile and escaped the human wall. Anna and Franz hurried after him.
"Sorry, coming through."
Anna was politely apologizing as she stepped on the soldiers, but it seemed the soldiers were more annoyed at being so easily escaped than anything else.
"Ah!"
Suddenly, Anna let out a scream. Looking, he saw a soldier grabbing her ankle. Ritz instinctively stomped on the man's head.
"Ugh…"
The soldier groaned and lost consciousness.
"Thanks, Ritz."
"Sure. Grabbing a woman's ankle when she's wearing a skirt, talk about a lack of delicacy."
Ritz had intended to state the obvious, but Franz, who was kicking people's hands away as he advanced, made a disgruntled face and sighed.
It seemed Franz really didn't get Ritz's jokes.
After breaking through the wall of fallen, incapacitated people, the three of them boldly entered the interior of the castle through the central gate. Just before they closed the door, the soldiers who had managed to get back up tried to swarm them, but right before they did, they all turned into golden dust and disappeared.
Was this a trial, too? He was starting to lose track.
"What are they even trying to test?"
Ritz muttered quietly. But he had an idea of where they needed to go.
The place Ritz and the others had reached was the castle's entrance hall. Numerous pillars stood at regular intervals, and the floor was made of polished marble. It was so reflective that you could see your own image in it.
Without hesitation, Ritz walked toward the room he believed to be their destination.
"Still, there's no one here."
Ritz, leading the way, grumbled to himself. The castle was eerily quiet, as if the number of soldiers from before had been a lie.
Soldiers aside, there should have been officials and such, but the lack of any presence was beyond strange and into the realm of creepy. In the real royal castle, this place would be overflowing with people.
Why was no one here? Did it mean that whether people were here or not had nothing to do with the trial? The mystery deepened, but for now, they decided to press on.
Staying vigilant but moving at a brisk pace, they gradually advanced deeper into the castle. The only sound they could hear was the echo of their own footsteps.
Because of that, it sounded abnormally loud.
They passed through the grand hall, entered a connecting corridor, and climbed a large staircase at the end. On the second floor, they passed through another terrace-like corridor and came out into a central hall. It was an open space from the first floor.
From that hall, they passed through a narrow passage that led deeper in, to a corridor that was frighteningly wide. It might be better to call it some kind of hall rather than a corridor.
In that hall, doors were lined up at regular intervals, and even to Franz and Anna, who knew nothing, it would be clear that this was the central part of the castle.
Franz, who had been following behind, asked Ritz.
"Where are we heading?"
"Well, you'll see when we get there."
Ritz answered cheerfully, but seeing the dissatisfied looks on Franz and Anna's faces, he gave a wry smile. There was no point in being silent. He might as well be honest.
"To the throne."
"The throne?"
Without even looking back at the surprised pair, Ritz continued as if it were obvious.
"It's decided, isn't it? The reason the people are so weak is because the king is bad. So if we meet the king, we'll understand something, right?"
Ritz's thinking was simple.
"This was made for royalty in the first place, right? In that case, the king has to be involved. And the king is on the throne. Simple and clear, right?"
"That's true."
Franz nodded, seemingly convinced.
"But, but, how can you find your way to the throne without getting lost?"
To Anna's question, he answered with a wry smile.
"Even if it's the past, I doubt the location of the throne would move so easily. I know exactly where the throne room is."
"How?"
"Reluctantly, I was once a minister of this country, a long, long time ago."
"Oh, right…"
Anna nodded profoundly. She had probably forgotten that Ritz's position was once a minister. For Ritz, too, it was a long time ago.